Parents and autism activists slammed the federal government Wednesday, calling its new programs for autistic children misguided.

The activists were reacting to Health Minister Tony Clement's announcement on Tuesday that he is spending $800,000 towards autism research and education. New projects include creating a research chair, sponsoring an autism symposium and developing an autism page on the Health Canada website.

"I found the message to be quite disheartening," Brenda Deskin of Dundas, Ont., told CBC Newsworld.

Her 11-year-old son, Michael, has autism. 

She said good autism websites exist and research has been done to show how common autism is and what treatments work.

"Mr. Clement alludes to an information gap, but that information is already out there," she said. "We're simply reinventing the wheel."

She and other parents and activists would like to see a national strategy for combating autism, rather than a patchwork of approaches from province to province.

Children across the country also need equal access to behavioural treatments that have been proven to be effective, said Jean Lewis, the director of Families for Early Autism Treatment of B.C.

The treatments can cost upwards of $60,000 a year for one child.

"True, it's expensive, but all health care is expensive," Lewis told CBC Newsworld. "But that's infinitely less expensive than a failure to provide such treatment."

She said if the government doesn't provide treatment, it could end up spending $1.5 million to institutionalize an autistic person.

The government could also be left to cope with social fallout — untreated autistic children can stress a family financially and emotionally, sometimes leading to marriage breakups, she said.

Rallies planned

"Like all children, our children deserve to be the best they can be."

Clement argues his new projects lay the groundwork for the additional help autistic children might need.

"We are confident that these initiatives will help to better address the many challenges individuals with autism spectrum disorder and their families are facing," Clement said in a statement Tuesday.

Lewis said her B.C. autism group and others will be active in the next federal election to make sure their concerns are heard and their needs are taken seriously. She and others planned rallies across the country Wednesday to get their message out.

"The glacial pace of bureaucratic time that afflicts the Canadian government in its approach to this urgent medical emergency is not acceptable," she said.

Autism is a common neurological disorder.

With files from the Canadian Press